Sports

Lofty expectations for Boise State basketball

BOISE, Idaho (KBOI) - The regular season hasn't even tipped yet, but the Boise State basketball team's picking up votes in the Top-25 polls. The thing is, those votes come some lofty expectations for this Broncos team.

That sort of thing is bound to happen when you're coming off a year where you earned the first NCAA Tournament at-large bid in school history, and return all-five starters, but Boise State embraces those expectations.

"We have a target on our back now so we can't let that have control over us and our minds and everything. So we just want to play the game that we play and be able to win games like we did last year," said Sophomore guard Mike Thompson.

"It just came from a lot of hard work and it feels good to us because that's what we wanted. We want those high expectations because we want to live up to those. It's what we expected. We all wanted this," said senior forward Ryan Watkins.

The men and women open their 2013-14 season Friday night at Taco Bell Arena, because chivalry is not dead the ladies go first. The Boise State women tip at 5:30 pm (MT) with the men to following at 8 pm (MT).